Lifestyle – The Word Magazine

Neighbourhood life

Projet Digilence’s Emilie and Valentin

Emilie Pischedda and Valentin Souquet are a duo in lots of ways: they are artists, lovers, parents and founders of Brussels-based art production hub Project Digilence.

Art

The Valentine’s Day gift guide

Every day of the week we'll be hand-picking one gift that is guaranteed to get you in your loved ones' good books. And we ain't talking heart-shaped boxes...

Neighbourhood life Do the right thing

The weekend 09.02

Exhibitions of Cy Twombly, Chantal Akerman and Naoto Kawahara, Azari & III and Jedi Mind Tricks in concert, plus a London getaway special revealing the must-sees on the island this weekend.

Art

Grey Gardens

By telling the story of the aunt and cousin of Jackie 'O' Kennedy, 1976 documentary Grey Gardens shows the face of the American aristocracy fallen from grace.

Neighbourhood life

SteytPeña’s Luis and Laurence

Luis Peña and Laurence Steyt met while assisting the same photographer in Paris back in 2004. These days, they're busy with their venture, SteytPeña, and their very own Brussels studio.

Neighbourhood life

Felicia Atkinson and Bartolomé Sanson

In the fourth part of our series on illuminating couple-collaborators, we introduce multi-talents Felicia and Bartholomé whose pooled resources include books and records.

Neighbourhood life

Onda Sonora’s Bart and Yoeri

More superstar soulmates. DJs Yoeri Bellemans and Bart Sibiel make up two halves of Onda Sonora Soundsystem. They traffic their soulful sound at their own trademarked shindigs but also through a cool weekly slot on FM Brussel.

Neighbourhood life Do the right thing

The weekend 03.02

It's a balmy minus 8° out there, but these weekend shindigs should warm you up: ProPulse Festival, Catclub and a Pierre Besson expo in Brussels, vintage shopping and a metal gig in Antwerp, and electronic music in Ghent. Have an outrageous weekend.

Neighbourhood life

Memymom’s Lisa and Marilène

Part II of our fascination-feature on outstanding Belgian two-pieces. Drumroll please for Memymom, a photography venture concocted by mother and daughter duo Marilène and Lisa.

Neighbourhood life

Face to Face’s Delphine and Flore

On a total love buzz, we've begun harvesting some of February's Valentine spirit. We've decided to while away the month by introducing you to some inseparable Belgian two-pieces. Some are musicians. Others photographers. The odd DJ-duo, even. We kick off our series with Brussels-based graphic design team Face to Face.

The Beautiful Fall

A fascinating read about the bitter rivalry between iconic fashion designers Karl Lagerfeld and Yves Saint Laurent.

Neighbourhood life Do the right thing

The weekend 26.01

This weekend has exhibitions of Don Brown, Wouter Feyaerts and Daan van Golden in store. Plus: Get your hands on a contemporary art piece without getting your wallet out at Bozar and take in your dose of music at Transardentes or the Gym Class Heroes concert.

Music The music throwaway project

Is Tropical

London three-piece Is Tropical takes you backstage with our disposable camera project.

WWD

Need to get up to speed on the inner workings of the fashion industry? Want to find out who's holding which position in which company? Or how a recent sales dump in Asia has affected luxury brands' stock price? A yearly subscription to fashion bible Women's Wear Daily's really all you need.

Art

Bruce Davidson’s Subway

We take a closer look at Steidl's recent reissue of American photographer Bruce Davidson's groundbreaking photographs of the New York subway back in the 1980s.

Neighbourhood life

Delvaux and Wouters & Hendrix collaboration

We sit down with jewellery designers Wouters & Hendrix to get the lowdown on their Delvaux collaboration.

Music The music throwaway project

Suuns

Our throwaway project gets given the Suun's treatment.

Neighbourhood life Do the right thing

The weekend 19.01

Christopher Coppers' exhibition opening in Brussels tonight, the incomparable Chilly Gonzales on Sunday night and a couple of design (Tomas Alonso at Victor Hunt), photography (Ben Murphy at Stieglitz 19 and Swedish photography at Zebrastraat) and art (Nikolay Oleynikov at Komplot) shows in between.

Neighbourhood life

Our Christmas wish list

Starting today and up until Christmas eve, we’ll be putting forward two present proposals a day meant to make your end-of-year gift search that little bit easier. Today: A knitted cardigan from Henrik Vibskov and scarf by SPRB.

Music

Nosedrip

We sit down with Ghent-based DJ Nosedrip to ask him what's missing in his life and what songs he'd play on a first date. Scroll down to the bottom of the interview for a free mix.

Art

The whiteboard

From teapots to toothpaste, these are the items that inspired us for our white album.

Art

The school of white socks

We zoom in on one of our all-time favourite fashion faux pas: white socks.

Art

When Hedgren met Sonny

Belgium bag maker Hedgren teams up with happy snapper Sonny Vandevelde for the launch of their capsule collection.

Art

White coats: The pharmacist

For the last instalment in our series on professions that still require wearing a white coat in the workplace, we visit Ghent-based pharmacist Ann Seye.

Neighbourhood life This is Belgium

The best burgers in Brussels

We round-up three of our favourite burger joints in Brussels - and toss in others that deserve a mention.

Art

High Drama

Our pick of most memorable cocaine scenes in cinematic history, from Charlie Chaplin to Woody Allen.

Art

White coats: The cheesemonger

Meet cheesemaker Walschot in the second instalment of our series on professions that still cherish the white coat as working wear.

Art

White coats: The poulterer

Do you remember the time when wearing a white coat at work was a pre-requisite, not an option? Here, we visit four professions who still insist on donning a white apron during working hours.

Neighbourhood life

Jungle fever

Robbert van Jaarsveld on a US census study predicting the end of the white race by 2042 and why the election of Barack Obama isn't what it seems.

Neighbourhood life

Snowballs

A 250-strong collection of snow globes that first came to our attention for our white album and, due to popular demand, even made it to our white album release party.

Neighbourhood life

My little white screen

Frédéric Nicolay, the creative mind behind Café Belga, Potemkine and cult Belgian beer Vedett, continues in his quest to freshen up Brussels with his neighbourhood-loving little white screen project.

Art

Rue Blanche

Rue Blanche is not only known as a purveyor of softness for everyday women but also for its outstanding look books. We dived a bit into history and had a closer look at its catalogues of the last 25 years.

Neighbourhood life

Chauncey’s white crew neck

Cosy-up to this white sweater from Brussels-based knitwear label Chauncey made of the finest Mongolian cashmere.

Neighbourhood life

White ’hoods

Why is it that 'white' neighbourhoods aren't as clearly defined in the human consciousness as, say, 'Black' or 'Asian' neighbourhoods? We've looked into the matter and stumbled across countless organic food shops and a lot of dog poop.

The Royal Tennis Club of Belgium

For 33 years now Gilbert Elseneer and his wife have run the Royal Tennis Club of Belgium in Brussels, a somewhat antiquated but lovingly kept tennis club where members' attire must be at least 80% white.

Neighbourhood life Do the right thing

The weekend 01.12

Lineart Art Fair and Hercules and Love Affair's Andy Butler in Ghent, Belgian photography and discount designer shopping in Antwerp, Jasper Johns in the countryside and, last but not least, Robert Devriendt and a temporary design store in Brussels.

Neighbourhood life Do the right thing

The weekend 18.11

Design exhibitions, photography fairs, fashion sales, vintage markets, live shows and DJ nights. People take note, your weekend's about to kick off and it's going to be big.

Neighbourhood life

Fifteen questions to: Zhao Li

With her playful, animal-shaped creations, up and coming jewellery designer Zhao Li has roots in China and a home in Antwerp, adding some much-needed colour to the local jewellery scene. We speak with her about the beauty of spiders, using medical plastic and her jewellery line 'talitali'.

Neighbourhood life

A Sofie D’Hoore dress

The little black dress gets given a Belgian twist in the shape of Sophie D'Hoore's upscaled offshoot for the modern woman.

Neighbourhood life

Bleu de Chanel

Chanel's latest fragrance for men 'Bleu de Chanel' hits all the right notes. Neither too girly nor too macho, the perfectly balanced manly scent offers just the right mixture of confidence and unpretentiousness.

Neighbourhood life

Kiehl’s Creme de Corps

You know what they say: a good defence is a strong offence. Don't wait for the winter to take its toll on your skin, and pre-empt the cracks with Kiehl's Creme de Corps, a face-saving, all-encompassing body cream that'll act as damage control to the winter months' wrath.

Neighbourhood life

Spicing it up: Saveurs et Savoirs

For the last instalment in our four-part series of inspiring retail start-ups, we spice things up a little with Saveurs et Savoirs, a temple to the senses set to open in Brussels this December.

Neighbourhood life

YMC sweater for girls

Nothing says cuddle up and snuggle like a heavy-knit sweater, and this YMC crew neck has got the entire office dishing out group hugs as defensive measures against the week's depressing weather.

Neighbourhood life

Ménage à deux: When fashion, art and lifestyle collide

In the third instalment of our series on new retail innovations, we meet DJ duo Ménage à deux a couple of days prior to the opening of their concept store of the same name, a fashion, design and culture emporium nestled in the heart of Brussels.

Neighbourhood life

Nike Sky Force ’88

The re-edition of Nike's Sky Force '88 has got the whole office reminiscing about the days when we spent more time on the basketball court than at the local. A time when scoring a three-pointer didn't yet have a double entendre.

Neighbourhood life

The interview: Magne Furuholmen

We speak with 80s pop icon and a-ha founding member Magne Furuholmen about his work as a visual artist and eco-activist.

Neighbourhood life Do the right thing

The weekend 23.9

Our selection of things to do this weekend includes everything from design exhibitions and open door walks to cinematic retrospectives and art shows.

Art

The big blue: aquarium addict Jan Jacobs

We continue our series on Belgium's aquarium diehards with Jan Jacobs who calls a hermit lobster and mating clownfish his own.

Neighbourhood life

London’s The Peoples Supermarket wins smart future minds award

A supermarket for the people by the people - this is the motto of the winning project. A sustainable food cooperative that provides healthy, local food at reasonable prices convinced the international jury at the smart urban stage Frankfurt.

Art

The big blue: aquarium addict Erik Lievens

In part three of our series on Belgium's biggest fishbowl fans, we bring you Erik Lievens...

Neighbourhood life

‘WeForest’ represents Belgium at smart urban stage in Frankfurt

Saving the planet by planting trees - this is the mission of Belgian NGO WeForest which has the chance to win the smart future minds award tomorrow in Frankfurt. We spoke to CEO Marie-Noelle Keijzer in the run up to the big day.

Art

The big blue: aquarium addict Steven van Aeldeweereld

Part two of our series on Belgium's aquarium diehards: Meet Steven van Aeldeweereld who calls more than 30 fish from Lake Malawi his own.

Art

The big blue: Aquarium addict Dirk van Damme

Photographer Veerle Frissen meets Belgium's aquarium addicts, capturing their interiors and exploring the vast depths of the ocean they've re-created within the confines of their own walls. Today we bring you Dirk van Damme, star of our latest edition's cover. He owns a massive 1,600 L fish tank.

The Word on teenage territories

We photograph the interiors of four individuals whose teenage territories have been stuck in the past.

Style spotters: Manu

For the fourth and last in our series of visual chapters on individualism and style, we hand the camera over to Manu from Mapp Store – one of those people who always has something good to say. He might have just given a new album a listen, and thinks you should too (we recently discovered Holidays […]

Neighbourhood life

Movers and shakers: graphic designer Emil Kozak’s video

We recently published an interview with Barcelona-based graphic designer Emil Kozak. Chosen as one of three endorsers for Braun’s CruZer campaign, Emil draws, paints, illustrates, skates and surfs. What is more, he also heads his own graphic design and art direction agency, and is often called upon to inject a little pizzazz to brands in […]

Art

Movers and shakers: graphic designer Emil Kozak

Graphic designers, if you ask us, don’t get half as much of love as they deserve. Part of that can be down to the fact that they operate on the fringes, preferring the familiarity of the backstage to the shine of the spotlight. Part of that is also down to the fact that they’re the […]

Music

The word with: Black Lips

Paying their customary visit to the Nuits Botanique, the Black Lips once more ripped the venue’s Orangerie to shreds. The self-proclaimed “flower-punks” are currently on the road presenting Arabia Mountain, their sixth effort – produced by pop maestro and instant hitmaker Mark Ronson of all people. And whilst these new tracks resolutely sounded more “flower” […]

Neighbourhood life

Movers and shakers: B-boy Ronnie Abaldonado

“A lot of my transitions flow and connect fluidly like I am telling a story,” says Ronnie Abaldonado, one of the judges to this year’s Braun Battle of the Year breakdancing contest. A Filipino living in Las Vegas, Ronnie (28) has secured some of the most respected break titles around (winner of the 2007 Red […]

Neighbourhood life

Faguo – world dominance one tree at a time

There’s something rather heart-warming about seeing a start-up coming-of-age, especially in the fast-paced and unforgiving world of fashion. If you’re anything like us and keep a close watch on the daily going-ons of the industry, you’ll agree that certain new arrivals somehow seem more astute than others at remaining at the top of the hype […]

Neighbourhood life

Noir: entertaining a dark passion for sustainable fashion

Sustainable designer lines might flourish all over the fashion sphere, yet it would seem that only a few brands can be credited for making it happen. Noir, a Copenhagen-based fashion group, was smart enough to get rid of all the hippie dippie connotations the fad carries by injecting some major sex appeal into sustainability. Writer […]

Art

The winners of our Swatch New Gent contest

Following an overwhelming response to our Swatch contest, we needed a little more time than expected to sift through your recollections and, ultimately, decide upon three winners. The jury has now spoken and, with somewhat of a preference for contestants who went that extra mile, here are the contest’s three winners, complete with their submissions: […]

Neighbourhood life

Goods from the Gulag

Just when we thought we finally had found an excuse to call in caviar by the kilos and crates-full of vodka to brighten up our days, we settled for nostalgia over flamboyance. Frugal meals and geeky memories prevailed, which didn’t stop us from messing about with KGB worthy spy gear or Tsar-like ornaments. Photography Benoit […]

Neighbourhood life

Win a watch from Swatch’s New Gent collection

Many objects come with the added bonus of announcing a certain coming-of-age. A maturity. A willigness to take a step up and, well, grow up. In the same way as you now start looking at blazer coats in a different light (“they’re ok when worn on top of a pair of jeans” you might even […]

Neighbourhood life

Tell your people to call my people and we’ll do lunch…

Midday is crunch time at Word HQ, which means we’ve built up a considerable knowledge bank of places we can call upon for an immediate fix of culinary double-deckers. Spanning our customary urban triangle of Antwerp, Ghent and Brussels, these are the places you’ll find us queuing up round about 12h10. Photography Veerle Frissen Brussels […]

Art

Varsity blues

I was given a little lesson in sportswear history over lunch today. The topic at hand was the varsity jacket (also known as a Letterman jacket), a staple of American university folklore. The lunch, organised by Nike Sportswear, took place in Alice Gallery‘s breath-taking new downtown space located in the heart of Brussels (the gallery […]

Art

Ik hou van Charleroi

Our relationship with Charleroi and its locals was left somewhat shaky after a feature we ran in last year’s Heritage Issue. Conceived as a tribute to the city’s industrial heritage, the piece garnered its fair share of controversy and even a few angry comments. We felt we owed the city a fresh new look and […]

Neighbourhood life

hallelujah!

Down on Rue Antoine Dansaert comes a new store that’s answering a lot of prayers with its eco-friendly and fashionable wares. Brought to us by Sonja Noël, the owner of the street’s stalwart Stijl, is Hallelujah. An eco-friendly take on luxury high fashion, this boutique is far cry from the hippy uniform of tie-dye, rainbow […]

Neighbourhood life

The paper box

Before Press Shops and the ubiquitous free paper stand, downtown dwellers used to go to cubed newsagent booths for their daily news needs. Scruffy and shabby, these kiosks often enjoyed primed retail spots and a close contact with their clients. With only a handful of them left on the city’s sidewalks, we thought to catch […]

Art

The Special Showstoppers: The Goods

We touch upon all aspects of design – from creation through to completion and reparation – in this month’s selection of special show stealers. We’ve got the software to prototype it, the loungechair to ponder it, the stool to rock it out, the plasticine to fix it, the mirror to have a final look at […]

Neighbourhood life

We own the night

“All the animals come out at night. Whores, skunk pussies, buggers, queens, fairies, dopers, junkies. Sick, venal.” Such is how a jaded Travis Bickle, played by De Niro, describes the streets of New York after sunset in Scorsese’s cult movie Taxi Driver. Forever associated with danger and evil, just what is it about the night […]

Art

The Word on rough trade

Big, coarse, callused hands have forever been the attribute of the virile and robust. Rachmaninov had them, and so do these four men. A gift of nature for some, but in this case, a testimony forged by years of hard and strenuous manual labour. Photography Sarah Eechaut Writer Yves Van Kerkhove

Art

My other car’s a dump

There are certain cars you give names to. Certain cars you speak to. Certain cars you’d be capable of building streets for. Certain cars you do not take to the carwash but, rather, lovingly pamper by hand. These are some of those cars. Photography Sarah Michielsen 1. Saab 900i 16v A word from the owner […]

Art

Its all in the name: Hunting and Collecting

With autumn comes the new season’s arrivals at Brussels’ most talked about concept store, Hunting and Collecting. As the name suggests this is about sourcing the very best of fashion, design and art around, and is a labour of love for owners Neils Radtke and Aude Gribomont. Joining their collective experiences of not only the […]

Neighbourhood life

Inside the Glorybox

Newly opened and already making its presence felt on the fashion thoroughfare of Dansaert, Glorybox is a bastion of Belgian and French design. Stocking new designers solely from Belgium and France is a primary and appealing feature of the boutique, distinguishing it from other shops in the area. Another somewhat atypical quality is the friendly, […]

Art

Brussels: where we sleep

Whether visiting town for a weekend or simply seeking a change of scenery for the night, below are some of our favourite alternatives to the rather impersonal globalized five star lodging chains. Hotel Pantone Topping our list is the recently opened and buzz-worthy Hotel Pantone. Designed by Michel Penneman and architect Olivier Hannaert, the spanking […]

Neighbourhood life This is Belgium

The best for food in Brussels

After sharing our favourite places to have a drink we share our adressess for the best food in Brussels and morem, from Delecta to Yamoto.

Art

Brussels: where we shop

Sales have kicked off – which means we can finally indulge in some of our favourite brands without fear of ending up blacklisted by all the country’s banks. Scroll down for a selection of boutiques and stores that have become inevitable stops in our retail therapy marathon route. Mapp Store (Men and Women) © Mapp […]

Art

Brussels: where we drink

Together with the start of the summer comes the cringe-inducing ‘city guides’ we’ve all grown accustomed to, from American broasheets’ “36 hours in…” roundups to glossy magazines’ “10 things to do in…” selections. Directories of the usual suspects, these guides hit all the right (touristy) chordes, without ever delving deep into the city DNA. And […]

Neighbourhood life

Hey pretty baby, going to make you a star

We teamed with Brussels-based collective Kiss Kiss Gang Bang for our breakthrough 101. Not only did they do a great job staging and capturing the essence of ambition driven fame hungry wannabes, they even threw in some kick-ass behind the scenes videos. Below are the making-of segments of our rock band, politician and artist du […]

Art

The Special Showstoppers: At the back of the bus

The nomadic lifestyle of the band on the summer festival circuit is both a blessing and a curse. While such movement adds exponentially to both industry cred and the rock ‘n’ roll allure, the effects on both sanity and hygiene can be much less desirable. Whether struck by stress, boredom, the sense of imprisonment, or […]

Art

It’s that time of the year again…

The highly anticipated annual Fashion Show of Antwerp’s Royal Academy of Fine Arts took place this past weekend in the industrial Northwest district of the city. The location – a large hangar beside the canal – was an interesting choice. For while the unrefined character of the neighbourhood was not at all in line with the […]

Art

Stadium invasion

With World Cup craze conquering the globe since last Friday, Nike figured the time was right to launch a new collection of NSW (Nike Sportswear), celebrating this noble sport and the team pride of six of the participating countries. For each country, an artist was selected to design a kit of footwear, coordinated with matching […]

Art

On our corner

A Brussels landmark as soon as its doors opened eight years ago, the iconic Café Belga has become the social hub that transformed a neighbourhood. It was just a matter of time until this local institution made it in our pages and the Breakthrough theme was simply the perfect fit. Photography Merel ‘t Hart Located on Place Flagey, […]

Art

Absolutely smashing

Life at the cutting edge can get pretty exhausting – kept awake at night by genius ideas, burning through the shoe leather as you sprint your way too and from the patent office, wrestling frustration as things fail to fall into place just so – we thought we’d help out with a little selection of […]

Art

Currently available at

Giving an extended online lease of life to an article we ran with in our skin issue, here’s the piece Randa (our newly-posted London correspondant) did on Dover Street Market. Photography Charlotte May Wales Dover Street Market still feels fresh as new despite being around for half a decade, making it one of the best, […]

Art

Ctrl-alt-del the front row

Playing your cards right as the PR officer entrusted with shaping a given designer’s front row has recently become that much harder with the arrival on the scene of teenie-bopping bloggers. Armed with an online following that’d make @aplusk bow down in awe, these industry outsiders have suddenly become front row material, with designers and […]

Art

Waiting for The Skin Issue

Hard at work on our March edition, themed The Skin Issue (our Friday 5th March 2010), we’re on the lookout for stuff (rude boys, art history/curating/events interns, DJs submissions, etc…) and wanted to remind you of other stuff (more Morning After posts to look forward to, concert tickets to win, Tweets to follow). Here’s a […]

Art

A hit for a hit

Fresh from our Morning After Issue, a piece Randa wrote on the talent-altering effects going cold turkey can have on some of our favourite acts… Musical creativity and drug addiction are dark but inevitable bedfellows, but the skewed stimulation of getting fucked-up long-term tends to end in either death or dry out. So what happens […]

Art

The unprintables – The Word On

To some, the morning’s first rolling stock means blurry eyes, out-of-pocket trips and last stop wake up calls. To others, it means the start of the daily grind, a last chance for inner peace before the routine begins. To Ulrike, it really is just a chance for morning voyeurism. Hazy, absent and unobstrusive. First off, […]